A stunning final sprint from Britain's flagship four enabled them to snatch a last-gasp victory from their Australian rivals. Until the final 20 strokes, the fast-starting Aussies looked to have done everything right, both to win the season's second World Cup and upset the world's fastest four. But with the water on the Rotsee rapidly running out, Andrew Triggs-Hodge and his men unleashed one final and decisive charge. Remarkably, the British bows hit the finish line more than a second ahead.

For three of the British four, who won the Olympic fours title in 2008 with a similar late sprint, it must have seemed like deja-vu. Before he received his medal, Peter Reed said: "That race reminded me a lot of the Olympic final from Beijing. We tested ourselves to stay away from the field in the last 500m." The British won their Beijing final by staying cool, and Tom James explained that his crew had displayed similar qualities on the Rotsee. "I wasn't worried," said the Beijing Olympic champion. "I always thought we could get there."

After a race that went down to the wire, none of the British could be under any illusions that they will now have to deliver the race of their lives to retain their Olympic title on Dorney Lake. Tellingly, their Australian opponents looked well satisfied with their work on the medal podium – they will expect to find more speed.

Will Lockwood suggested as much: "This is only our second proper race," said the Australian bowman. Lockwood, whose crew arrived in Europe last week, said: "We've got more time to practise and to race and we'll only get better."

But the British four will also believe they have significant room for improvement. Their coach, Jürgen Grobler, favours more land-based training during the winter. His crew have effectively been together for only six weeks – less time than the Australians. Though the British can move fast, they are still far from a smooth unit – a point that Triggs-Hodge underlined. "We've still got more to come," he said.

It was the sheer pace and fluidity of the Australians that almost did for the British. After the Aussies set a faster time to the halfway point in their heat, Alex Gregory, the British bowman, expected a tough race and explained: "We knew they were going to be quick." But he could not have reckoned with Australia's tenacity in the race's third quarter, when repeated British attacks failed to dent their rival's confidence. "It was just a case of hanging on and then producing a really powerful sprint," said Gregory.

In contrast to the British four, the double scull of Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins are close to the finished article and on the Rotsee they left strong Polish and German doubles trailing in their wake. But with a strong Australian crew expected to return from injury, Grainger emphasised that her boat still had to improve. "Today was a massive step-on from our race in Belgrade three weeks ago." The 36‑year‑old Scot added: "We will keep making those steps."

The women's pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were pushed hard too but the world silver medallists put in another assured performance. Like the double, the British pair led through every mark. At the finish, they had a one-length margin of victory over a strong American pair, with the Kiwi world champions – still getting over jet-lag – in third.

The men's eight, with the 40-year-old Greg Searle on board, briefly looked as though they might have finally found the answer to ending the German's four-year domination of this event but despite an impressive third quarter, the British had to be content with silver, 1.16sec behind Germany. That gap could be closed if Britain's young, talismanic stroke man Constantine Louloudis recovers from a back injury which has so far this season kept him a spectator.

Some of Britain's gold medal contenders did find the pace too hot for them. Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, the Olympic champions, finished in sixth place, 9sec down on the French winners. They will hope there is time to improve before the season's final World Cup in three weeks.